1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an issuing system including a plurality of issuing machines for selling, generating, and printing newly-issued securities or fixed rate financing instruments that include selected features of common stock and bonds, and a method for establishing a market with the system. In particular, the fixed rate financing instruments attract private funds and investments to finance public works or projects, such as infrastructure improvement projects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stock certificates are a well-known type of certificate of securities that represent the positions or rights of stockowners. A business operator issues stock certificates that represent the positions or rights of investors in return for acquiring funds from the investors. Those who purchased stock certificates (i.e., stockholders) are allowed to participate in the operation of the company that issued the stock certificates based on the positions and rights given to them in return. In other words, stockholders can attend stockholders meetings, participate in voting, and demand dividends from the company that issued stock certificates.
Moreover, stockholders are allowed to sell the stock certificates to third parties. By selling the stocks at prices exceeding the original purchase prices, they can earn profits that are equal to the differences between them.
Bonds are another type of well-known securities that are issued by national or local governments, entities established based on special laws, or private enterprises for obligations they have to the public as a whole. Bonds are characterized in that they have predetermined redemption dates, after which the bond issuers are to pay to the bond owners corresponding principals and interests. Bond owners are also allowed to sell bonds at prices exceeding the original purchase prices and earn profits that are equal to the differences between them.
However, a business operator sometimes may not be able to acquire sufficient funds only by stock issues. Moreover, by issuing bonds, a business operator becomes obligated to pay the principals and interests after the redemption dates, so that bond issuing results in a high burden for a business owner.
US. Patent Application Publication No. 20020107766 provides a financial instrument certificate purchasing system for issuing, transferring and redeeming financial certificates which are representative of underlying publicly-traded property. The system permits an individual to gift a third party with a certificate which represents a company's security or other financial instrument, while not itself consisting of the financial instrument. However, the system does not sell, generate or print the financial instrument itself. In addition, the certificates are ordered via a personal computer, rather than any publicly-available standing-alone issuing machine like an ATM.
There is a need for a securities issuing system with a plurality of issuing machines placed at various convenient locations to for potential customers to offer to buy securities, to buy securities, to transfer bought securities to a depository, or to print out the bought securities.